Eyewitness (1981)

Manhattan janitor Daryll Deever is fixated on hard-charging TV commentator, Tony Sokolow; he tapes her commentary daily to watch after work. When a wealthy Vietnamese man, with many shady ... See full summary »

Director:

Peter Yates

Writer:

Steve Tesich

Stars:

William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, Christopher Plummer

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
William Hurt	...	Daryll Deever
Sigourney Weaver	...	Tony Sokolow
Christopher Plummer	...	Joseph
James Woods	...	Aldo Mercer
Irene Worth	...	Mrs. Sokolow
Kenneth McMillan	...	Mr. Deever
Pamela Reed	...	Linda Mercer
Albert Paulsen	...	Mr. Sokolow
Steven Hill	...	Lieutenant Jacobs
Morgan Freeman	...	Lieutenant Black
Alice Drummond	...	Mrs. Eunice Deever
Sharon Goldman	...	Israeli Woman
Chao Li Chi	...	Mr. Long, International Trading Ltd. / Murder Victim
Keone Young	...	Mr. Long's Son
Dennis Sakamoto	...	Vietnamese Man #1

Storyline

Manhattan janitor Daryll Deever is fixated on hard-charging TV commentator, Tony Sokolow; he tapes her commentary daily to watch after work. When a wealthy Vietnamese man, with many shady connections, is murdered in the office building where Daryll works, Tony shows up to cover the story and Daryll introduce himself. She thinks he may know something, so she pursues him; he pretends he might to keep her interested. This romantic cat and mouse game goes on under the watchful eyes of the killers, who think that Daryll and Tony do know something. The killers start their own game of cat and mouse.

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Plot Keywords:

janitor | trash compactor | chase | stable | horse | 

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Taglines:

Only the best murder cases make the six o'clock news.

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Genres:

Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 February 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Janitor

Filming Locations:

Central Park Lake, Central Park, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Gross:

SEK 1,493,715 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In order to research his character, William Hurt actually moonlighted as a janitor before production on the film began and it would prove vital throughout the film.

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Goofs

There is a security camera very obviously placed in the outer office outside of where the murder takes place- yet nobody ever goes to view the tapes during the investigation

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Quotes

Aldo Mercer: She's just using you. You're a janitor, you asshole!

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Connections

Spoofed in Hot Shots! (1991)

User Reviews

Two apparently independent plots.

There are few films which boast such a first-rate cast:Christopher Plummer,Morgan Freeman ,Sigourney Weaver,James Woods ..And like in Hitchcock's "family plot" (1975),there are two apparently independent plots:on one hand,a shady business man's murder and a Vietnam veteran who becomes a janitor in the same building;on the other hand, a network which helps the Jews immigrate into the US.A fine thread connects the two stories:Weaver is the daughter of Jews who belong to this network and the fiancée (?) of one of them;and she's also a TV reporter who covers the affair I mention above;and she is also the janitor's idol.and...

When,after after almost one hour,the two plots become one,they do not hang well together(in Hitchcock's "family plot" ,the connection was very smart:a simple movement of the camera followed Karen Black ).And in spite of two spectacular scenes ,the rabid dog,and the horses which give the movie a fantastic touch,the story is at once implausible and predictable .Also handicapped by pointless minor characters such as Woods' sister and Hurt's father.This film does not rank among Peter Yates 'best.